Published: Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 10:16 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, November 17, 2012 at 10:16 p.m.

A body was found Saturday near where an oil platform exploded off the Grand Isle coast Friday, but U.S. Coast Guard officials said no identification had been verified.

The Coast Guard called of its search for two workers missing from the platform about 5:45 p.m. Saturday but later confirmed platform owner Black Elk Energy's contracted dive team discovered the body.

The Coast Guard said it searched about 1,400 square miles around the platform through Friday night and into Saturday using helicopters, airplanes and 87-foot cutter ships.

Friday's explosion on the platform, located about 25 miles southeast of Grand Isle, also sent 11 people to the hospital, including four with what was reported to be second- and third-degree burns over much of their bodies.

Only those four crew members remained in the hospital Saturday, according to a news release from Houston-based Black Elk Energy.

The burns were less severe than originally reported, a Black Elk spokeswoman told The Associated Press.

Workers with less serious injuries were treated at and released from several local hospitals, including Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma and Our Lady of the Sea in Galliano.

Nine other crew members evacuated unharmed, and four left the platform before the explosion.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is investigating the cause of the incident.

Of the 22 workers involved in the explosion, 14 worked for Grand Isle Shipyards, a Louisiana-based company headquartered in Galliano.

Spokesmen for both the Coast Guard and Grand Isle Shipyards said they couldn't release the names of the missing or injured workers, so it's not yet known if any of them come from in or around Lafourche or Terrebonne parishes.

Coast Guard Capt. Ed Cubanski said the workers triggered the explosion while using a cutting torch on a 75-foot pipe.

The platform was "shut in" for maintenance and was not producing oil at the time of the explosion, but about 28 gallons of oil seeped out of the pipe.

Coast Guard crews reported a sheen of oil about a half-mile long and 200 yards wide near the site.

Still, experts told The Associated Press that it was unlikely the explosion would cause a major spill like the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 since the well was not producing.

The well is also much closer to shore and in waters only 56 feet deep, which experts say would make any spill much easier to contain.

The explosion came one day after BP plead guilty to several criminal charges tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Local oilfield workers operating near the platform Friday said the explosion threw up a spectacular plume of smoke.

"We were heading into Grand Isle and heard the mayday, so we turned around," said Brett Rodrigue of Houma, who is a deckhand on a platform-servicing vessel in the Gulf. "The first thing we saw was that big ole plume of smoke."

Staff Writer Xerxes Wilson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.

<p>A body was found Saturday near where an oil platform exploded off the Grand Isle coast Friday, but U.S. Coast Guard officials said no identification had been verified.</p><p>The Coast Guard called of its search for two workers missing from the platform about 5:45 p.m. Saturday but later confirmed platform owner Black Elk Energy's contracted dive team discovered the body.</p><p>The Coast Guard said it searched about 1,400 square miles around the platform through Friday night and into Saturday using helicopters, airplanes and 87-foot cutter ships. </p><p>Friday's explosion on the platform, located about 25 miles southeast of Grand Isle, also sent 11 people to the hospital, including four with what was reported to be second- and third-degree burns over much of their bodies. </p><p>Only those four crew members remained in the hospital Saturday, according to a news release from Houston-based Black Elk Energy. </p><p>The burns were less severe than originally reported, a Black Elk spokeswoman told The Associated Press. </p><p>Workers with less serious injuries were treated at and released from several local hospitals, including Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma and Our Lady of the Sea in Galliano.</p><p>Nine other crew members evacuated unharmed, and four left the platform before the explosion.</p><p>The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is investigating the cause of the incident.</p><p>Of the 22 workers involved in the explosion, 14 worked for Grand Isle Shipyards, a Louisiana-based company headquartered in Galliano. </p><p>Spokesmen for both the Coast Guard and Grand Isle Shipyards said they couldn't release the names of the missing or injured workers, so it's not yet known if any of them come from in or around Lafourche or Terrebonne parishes. </p><p>Coast Guard Capt. Ed Cubanski said the workers triggered the explosion while using a cutting torch on a 75-foot pipe.</p><p>The platform was "shut in" for maintenance and was not producing oil at the time of the explosion, but about 28 gallons of oil seeped out of the pipe.</p><p>Coast Guard crews reported a sheen of oil about a half-mile long and 200 yards wide near the site.</p><p>Still, experts told The Associated Press that it was unlikely the explosion would cause a major spill like the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010 since the well was not producing. </p><p>The well is also much closer to shore and in waters only 56 feet deep, which experts say would make any spill much easier to contain.</p><p>The explosion came one day after BP plead guilty to several criminal charges tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.</p><p>Local oilfield workers operating near the platform Friday said the explosion threw up a spectacular plume of smoke. </p><p>"We were heading into Grand Isle and heard the mayday, so we turned around," said Brett Rodrigue of Houma, who is a deckhand on a platform-servicing vessel in the Gulf. "The first thing we saw was that big ole plume of smoke."</p><p>Staff Writer Xerxes Wilson and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Staff Writer Matthew Albright can be reached at 448-7635 or at matthew.albright@dailycomet.com.</p>